Now the Isthmus is running with rumors about the sexual orientation of political figures

Oh, and Herb Kohl is long-rumored to be gay. It’s stated as fact by political insiders.

Yes, there’s a big difference between closeted homosexuality and open homosexuality, but the fact is that questions about Kohl’s orientation certainly didn’t doom the senator the way they might in more socially conservative states. “The Dairy Queen,” as Kohl is sometimes derisively called, did not have to showcase a wife, kids and a golden retriever to convince voters he was looking out for Wisconsin, and not Gomorrah, in the U.S. Senate.

So has the Isthmus become Wonkette? TMZ? Because I would like to believe that the editors of the Isthmus must have been asleep at the switch when Craver submitted this blog post for publication.

I can’t imagine the circumstances under which I would ever report on the rumored, and I want to stress rumored, sexual orientation of a public figure unless it was directly affecting that person’s public duties. Even then it would only be as fact, not rumor.

But Craver has set a new standard, a very low standard, by attempting to “out” a politician for Craver’s own political purposes, and without any evidence except for repeating rumors. It needs to be said that those rumors are contrary to Senator Kohl’s own statements on the issue.

I can’t imagine that the Isthmus will allow the post to remain on their site, and I suspect that they will be issuing an apology to the senator both publicly and privately. That is if they have any sense of decency at all.